Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended himself today during a stormy session of the Israeli parliament (Knesset) against criticism of his conduct for the way he is conducting the war in Gaza, claiming that Israel is "systematically advancing towards the achievement of war goals".
He reiterated that these goals are the release of the hostages, the elimination of Hamas and guarantees that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel.
Netanyahu dismissed the criticism, explaining that Israel is achieving its goals in Gaza through "a combination of political and military pressure."
"Hamas is really under pressure because we are eliminating its commanders, thousands of its terrorists, because we have entered Rafah and the Philadelphia Corridor (on the Gaza-Egypt border) and we are holding it by the throat," the Israeli leader said.
Assessing that he had withstood "enormous pressure at home and abroad," Netanyahu declared that, despite criticism in the Knesset and the media, which claims that it is impossible to defeat Hamas, Israel is "on the road to absolute victory."
"We will eliminate that neo-Nazi government in Gaza, we will eliminate the military and Hamas' leadership capabilities and we are moving forward step by step," Netanyahu said during a debate the opposition can call once a month and the prime minister is required to attend.
"We were told that Hamas will not agree to release the hostages if we do not first agree to end the war. Suddenly they agree. The more we persist in the pressure they will give more and more. And that is the only way to release the hostages," added the Israeli Prime Minister .
He reiterated that Israel is determined to win the war and return all hostages, and the key is "pressure, pressure and more pressure."
"The pressure I'm talking about should be directed at (Hamas leader Yahya) Sinvar. Your pressure on me will not help," Netanyahu concluded, Israeli media reported.
The Israeli leader, meanwhile, drew fierce criticism from the families of the hostages after reports that during last night's security cabinet meeting he dismissed the possibility of danger for the hostages held in Gaza.
As reported by the Ynet news site, Netanyahu said during the discussion about the ceasefire and the hostage agreement, which is being indirectly negotiated with Hamas, that the organization should be under stress, not Israel, and that "the hostages are suffering, but not are dying".
The Hostage Families Forum called on Netanyahu to immediately explain the statement, which it said was not only deeply hurtful to the families of the hostages, but inaccurate and dangerously irresponsible.
"The grim reality is undeniable: hostages have already been killed in captivity. Even more hostages may lose their lives at this moment," the forum said, adding that negotiations are at a turning point and that the current ceasefire proposal is the only viable way to ensure release of all hostages.
In the attack of Palestinian extremists led by Hamas on October 7 of last year in the south of Israel, more than 250 hostages were kidnapped and taken to Gaza.
Around 120 are believed to be still being held, and the Israeli military has confirmed that 42 are dead.
(Beta)
A total of 38.794 Palestinians have been killed and 89.364 wounded in Israel's military offensive on Gaza since October 7, the Gaza Health Ministry said, according to Reuters.
In the last 24 hours, around 81 Palestinians were killed and 198 were injured, the Ministry added.
Israel's Defense Minister, Yoav Galan, told his American counterpart that military operations in the Gaza Strip had created the conditions that would make it possible to reach an agreement on the hostages, Galan's office said, according to Rottjers.
Galan made the comments during an overnight conversation with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, his office said.
"The IDF's operations in Gaza have led to the conditions necessary to reach an agreement on the return of the hostages, which is the highest moral imperative at this time," Galan said, according to the statement.
Israeli airstrikes killed more than 60 Palestinians in southern and central Gaza during the night of July 16, AP writes.
The Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas has accused Israel of stepping up attacks in Gaza to disrupt efforts by Arab mediators and the United States to reach a ceasefire agreement. Israel says it is trying to root out Hamas fighters.
In Rafah, a southern border town where Israeli forces have been operating since May, five Palestinians were killed in an airstrike on a house, Gaza health officials said.
An Israeli airstrike killed at least 17 Palestinians and wounded 26 in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, officials said.
The Israeli military said the target of the attack was a senior militant of the Islamic Jihad group, an ally of Hamas.
"We are looking into reports that several civilians were injured as a result of the strike," the military said in a statement.
The Israeli military has carried out several deadly attacks in recent days in Gaza, including one on July 13 in the Al Mavasi refugee camp, where more than 90 people were killed.
The attack on Monday and Tuesday hit the Nuseirat and Zavaida refugee camps in central Gaza. The attacks on four houses killed at least 24 people, including 10 women and four children, according to officials at Al Aqsa Hospital in the nearby city of Deir al-Balah.
Another hit a UN school in Nuseirat where families were sheltering, killing at least nine people.
Other attacks in Khan Yunis and Rafah killed 12 people, according to medical officials and AP reporters.
The war in Gaza began after Hamas, listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, invaded southern Israel on October 7, killing about 1.200 people and taking 250 hostages.
After Hamas' massacre, mostly of civilians, Israel launched an offensive against Gaza.
At least 38.664 people have died in the fighting, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry. About 2,3 million people live in that Palestinian territory.
(Radio Free Europe)
The conflict between Israel and Hamas has entered its 285th day.
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